Big Sister, Little Sister

These two dolls are going to be maids in the big house.  The smaller doll was supposed to be an old lady with her white hair but her face is really young so she will be a little scullery maid.  Here they are modelling their matching underwear of long pantaloons with matching half petticoats which were cut from a long length of voile with insertion and edging lace.  The length of fabric was originally   part of a job lot of vintage and antique laces that I bought on ebay and I managed to cut five pairs of pantaloons and five petticoats out of it, making sure that the lace edging remained on the bottom edge of each little garment. The Nanny in the rocking chair also wears a set.

Anyway, the story with these two girls are that they are sisters.  The big one is eighteen and has been in service in the big house for six years already while the little one is only twelve and this is her very first day at work. She is extremely nervous (I think you can see that in her anxious little face) so her big sister is making sure that she settles in alright.  I really must start naming my little people, starting with these two.......... I think Charlotte (Lottie) for the big sister and Mary Ann (Polly) for the little one.

Lottie started life as another one of those maid dolls dressed in a plain black dress with a white apron trimmed with nylon lace.  Her petticoat was a smidgin too long so I had to sew a tiny 2mm tuck around the bottom. Unfortunately, part of the original treadle-machine stitching was not quite straight making the hem uneven.  Still, it will be covered up by her dress and no-one will know that a lady sewing a long length of lace to the bottom of the material about a hundred years ago went off the line for a couple of inches!!